ETED: Large-scale batteries will provide more stability to the system

The large-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) investment initiative promoted by the Dominican Electric Transmission Company (ETED) will provide the country with technical optimizations for greater stability of the National Interconnected Electric System (SENI), which include frequency regulation, black start capability—that is, the possibility of restarting the electrical system from scratch after a general blackout—among other benefits.

The statements were offered by the executive vice president of ETED, Alfonso Rodríguez Tejada, during the panel on the country’s energy present and future held this Tuesday at the 2026 Government Forums of GALA Media Group.

The official explained that, with the energy demand and the incorporation of new energy sources projected in the National Energy Plan, the Dominican Republic must provide itself with its own backup and restoration mechanisms. In this sense, the ETED is harmonizing its electrical transmission infrastructure expansion plan and incorporating new technologies such as BESS, to provide the system with greater autonomy and resilience.

Regarding resilience and energy security, engineer Rodríguez Tejada, an expert in the field, exemplified that, in the event of a hurricane, the system might require a controlled disconnection to avoid major damage, after which it is essential to have the necessary resources to restore service in a safe and orderly manner, and that is what ETED is working on as an enabler of the energy and digital transition.

Rodríguez Tejada maintained that this transformation responds to a structural change in electricity generation. He recalled that, until before the year 2000, the predominant design in the world consisted of installing large power plants next to fuel docks and from there laying lines to distribution. That scheme no longer applies: today the grid must reach where the resource is located, be it a photovoltaic park, a wind resource, or a hydroelectric plant.

“The electrical transmission company needs to become not only an energy transmitter, but an energy service provider,” a driver of increased stability for the SENI, he stated.

He recalled that the country’s socioeconomic development requires significant investments in the energy sector. In that context, he noted that global trends are driving the arrival of data centers and that productions with higher added value depend on the existence of a reliable energy source.

In that sense, he specified that large investors who approach the Ministry of Energy and Mines with openness and willingness formulate their concerns and find a precise and frank response, based on the sector’s planning and the aforementioned instruments. 

“There is no way for development without energy and without electricity,” he maintained.

The ETED is responsible for operating, maintaining, and expanding the high-voltage transmission network of the Dominican Republic and managing the National Fiber Optic Network, consolidating itself as an enabler of the energy and digital transition that the country needs.